The Ruins of Teotihuacan
No visit to Mexico would be complete without a visit to the ancient city of Teotihuacan. The most famous of Mexican ruins, featuring in movies such as Frida and even surpassing Chichen Itza's renown, Teotihuacan was one of the earliest and most important cities in Mesoamerica. Founded at the time of Monte Alban and many of the earliest Mayan metropolises such as El Mirador, Teotihuacan was one of the most powerful Mesoamerican cities ever.
While the exact nature of this power is unknown due to a lack of written sources, the city's influence was vast. Nearly every major city in Mesoamerica had a Teotihuacan quarter. Its armies under the general Fire Is Born once conquered the distant Tikal, building it into one of the two or three superpowers of the Mayan world in just a century. These vast contacts made Teotihuacan into a truly cosmopolitan city, hosting ethnic populations from every cardinal direction. This rich cultural environment built Teotihuacan into a major exporter of ideas and art, but every empire must perish. In the case of Teotihuacan, the culprit appears to have been internal discontent and revolution: all of its religious, civic and political centers were burnt around the 7th century, and the residential and artisanal quarters were subsequently abandoned.
However, such a radiant society could not simply disappear. Its artistic and architectural styles remained omnipresent in Mesoamerica for centuries after its decline in the seventh century, right up until the Conquista. Further, the population did not simply die off: the diverse ethnic groups left to resettle, some in their traditional homelands and some further afield, bringing about significant changes throughout what is today Mexico. Teotihuacan passed into myth. Every major political actor claimed descent from Teotihuacan to legitimize their power and made regular pilgrimages to the ruined city, including the Aztecs. (For this reason, Teotihuacan is often misidentified as an Aztec religious center today, especially in the news media, which is really not an accurate reflection of the truth) Teotihuacan artifacts remained prized items and acquired mythical powers in the minds of the Mesoamericans as time progressed, who initiated in traffic of such items. The Aztecs began a program to systematically excavate the city in search of holy objects, these having been found in burials as far away as modern Honduras.
We went to Teotihuacan on a Monday to avoid the crowds, and given the masses of people who were there, it was probably a good thing that we did so. We began the day with visits to the major sights, such as the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, a climb up the massive Pyramid of the Sun (which was actually dedicated to the rain god), and the smaller but more panoramic Pyramid of the Moon. The vendors gave the whole thing a bit of a circus atmosprere, selling whistles and trinkets to the Spring Breakers. New Agers on top of the Pyramid of the Sun engaged in rituals to absorb the pyramid's “power” in their own invented mythology.
It was after lunch, however, that we had the best experience of the day. We went around the periphery of the most popular parts of the site to explore the superbly preserved murals that cover the many minor palaces just outside of the acropolis. These were wonderful, bright and engaging, offering a window into the thoughts and daily lives of a people long gone. One mural, called the Paradise of Tlaloc, shows a heaven-like scene under the auspices of this god of rain. Hundreds of figures are enjoying life, playing games, sports, hunting and eating. Another shows priests in their elaborate dress, with quetzal-feathered headresses, incense burners and staffs. One shows a fisherman diving for conch shells, while numerous others tell of the Teotihuacan pantheon.
There were so many murals over so many places in the city that we did not have time to see nearly as much as we would have liked. At the last place we went, we had to beg the night guard to let us in although he had just closed. He took pity on us and agreed to let us in, just for a few minutes. Interestingly, this best part of the city was almost empty. While the Pyramid of the Sun was full of people, including New Agers who appeared to want to benefit from the knowledge of this ancient society, not very many people seemed interested in seeing the messages that the people here left behind. This makes me despair a bit, but it is nice to enjoy these things in peace.
We hope that these pictures can communicate just a fraction of the beauty that we saw in Teotihuacan. Please enjoy them.
April 10th, 2010 - 04:59
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